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  <div class="section" id="extending-and-embedding-the-python-interpreter">
<span id="extending-index"></span><h1>Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter<a class="headerlink" href="#extending-and-embedding-the-python-interpreter" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<p>This document describes how to write modules in C or C++ to extend the Python
interpreter with new modules.  Those modules can not only define new functions
but also new object types and their methods.  The document also describes how
to embed the Python interpreter in another application, for use as an extension
language.  Finally, it shows how to compile and link extension modules so that
they can be loaded dynamically (at run time) into the interpreter, if the
underlying operating system supports this feature.</p>
<p>This document assumes basic knowledge about Python.  For an informal
introduction to the language, see <a class="reference internal" href="../tutorial/index.html#tutorial-index"><em>The Python Tutorial</em></a>.  <a class="reference internal" href="../reference/index.html#reference-index"><em>The Python Language Reference</em></a>
gives a more formal definition of the language.  <a class="reference internal" href="../library/index.html#library-index"><em>The Python Standard Library</em></a> documents
the existing object types, functions and modules (both built-in and written in
Python) that give the language its wide application range.</p>
<p>For a detailed description of the whole Python/C API, see the separate
<a class="reference internal" href="../c-api/index.html#c-api-index"><em>Python/C API Reference Manual</em></a>.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="first admonition-title">Note</p>
<p class="last">This guide only covers the basic tools for creating extensions provided
as part of this version of CPython. Third party tools may offer simpler
alternatives. Refer to the <a class="reference external" href="https://python-packaging-user-guide.readthedocs.org/en/latest/extensions.html">binary extensions section</a>
in the Python Packaging User Guide for more information.</p>
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<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html">1. Extending Python with C or C++</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#a-simple-example">1.1. A Simple Example</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#intermezzo-errors-and-exceptions">1.2. Intermezzo: Errors and Exceptions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#back-to-the-example">1.3. Back to the Example</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#the-module-s-method-table-and-initialization-function">1.4. The Module&#8217;s Method Table and Initialization Function</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#compilation-and-linkage">1.5. Compilation and Linkage</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#calling-python-functions-from-c">1.6. Calling Python Functions from C</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#extracting-parameters-in-extension-functions">1.7. Extracting Parameters in Extension Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#keyword-parameters-for-extension-functions">1.8. Keyword Parameters for Extension Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#building-arbitrary-values">1.9. Building Arbitrary Values</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#reference-counts">1.10. Reference Counts</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#writing-extensions-in-c">1.11. Writing Extensions in C++</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="extending.html#providing-a-c-api-for-an-extension-module">1.12. Providing a C API for an Extension Module</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="newtypes.html">2. Defining New Types</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="newtypes.html#the-basics">2.1. The Basics</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="newtypes.html#type-methods">2.2. Type Methods</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="building.html">3. Building C and C++ Extensions with distutils</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="building.html#distributing-your-extension-modules">3.1. Distributing your extension modules</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="windows.html">4. Building C and C++ Extensions on Windows</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="windows.html#a-cookbook-approach">4.1. A Cookbook Approach</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="windows.html#differences-between-unix-and-windows">4.2. Differences Between Unix and Windows</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="windows.html#using-dlls-in-practice">4.3. Using DLLs in Practice</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html">5. Embedding Python in Another Application</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html#very-high-level-embedding">5.1. Very High Level Embedding</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html#beyond-very-high-level-embedding-an-overview">5.2. Beyond Very High Level Embedding: An overview</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html#pure-embedding">5.3. Pure Embedding</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html#extending-embedded-python">5.4. Extending Embedded Python</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html#embedding-python-in-c">5.5. Embedding Python in C++</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="embedding.html#compiling-and-linking-under-unix-like-systems">5.6. Compiling and Linking under Unix-like systems</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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